It's not just TRS, it's a whole lot of the fandom becoming quieter than back in the heyday. I think FiM's novelty was a big part of the appeal for a lot of folks, but once that wore off (I feel like the ponyless year between seasons 4-5 was the tipping point in this regard), a lot of them moved on to other stuff. If S9 ends up being the last season, as the rumors say, I hope some of them will at least drop back in for the finale.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — While not explicitly confirming that layoffs were taking place Wednesday, Hasbro Inc. said that “difficult” changes are underway that affect “a single digit percentage” of the toy company’s global workforce of 5,000 employees.

The company refused several requests for further specifics on the number of layoffs that are apparently taking place, except to say that the company was not required to file a federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification — or WARN — notice. Such a notice would normally be required 60 days in advance of laying off 50 to 499 employees at a “single site of employment,” but only if those laid off account for a third or more of the employees.

“As part of Hasbro’s ongoing transformation we continue to make meaningful organizational changes,” said an emailed statement from company spokeswoman Julie Duffy. “While some of these changes are difficult, we must ensure we have the right teams in place with the right capabilities to lead the company into the future.”

More at the link. I posted in here because we don’t have a news thread anymore.

Oof, that's not good. I wonder if the closure of Toys R Us affected their business in some ways.

One of the lawsuits is over whether or not Hasbro knew TRU was going under and chose to misreport it to their investors in their quarterly reports before it went down. Hasbro’s own reports say that TRU’s failure caused an 11% decline in revenue this year.

My understanding is that the main causes are:
* Toys R Us
* The latest Transformers movie doing worse than expected
* The flood of Star Wars movies means that toys for the spinoffs are rotting on the shelves. There was also an issue with The Last Jedi toys coming to stores months before the movie released, meaning initial sales were bad (they improved once the movie actually came out)

* The flood of Star Wars movies means that toys for the spinoffs are rotting on the shelves. There was also an issue with The Last Jedi toys coming to stores months before the movie released, meaning initial sales were bad (they improved once the movie actually came out)

That sounds a bit like what I remember from the prequel movies, with Mace Windu toys on the shelves before Episode 1 even came out, and then it's like, "Why did they sell toys of this guy?"

That sounds a bit like what I remember from the prequel movies, with Mace Windu toys on the shelves before Episode 1 even came out, and then it's like, "Why did they sell toys of this guy?"

Dexter Jettster (the diner owner) was a huge peg-warmer back when Episode II came out. “Hey, kids! It’s that one guy from that one scene! Now with the exciting new action feature: delivering exposition! “

The original original Jabba was a short Irish fellow Here’s the scene as it was shot (and cut from the film) originally, before they put an ugly PS2-quality CGI Jabba over the actor for the Special Edition:

I haven't watched the video yet, but I don't get this selection at all. I get that the latter two are holiday episodes, but only "Hearth's Warming Eve" particularly feels like it's in Chuck's wheelhouse.